Plan to cut off the nine states

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Mengjin is a ferry, only one day's journey from Luoyang. Crossing the river from here is the border of Bingzhou. There are two cities, one large and one small, on both sides of the bridge, guarding the pass, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The rules set by Emperor Zhang Xi of Tiancheng I are that the governor is in charge of the government affairs of a state, the governor is in charge of the supervision of several counties, and the military affairs are distributed to the general managers or city lords of various places. The big one spans three or five counties, and the small one only occupies one county. In wartime, the court will appoint a general to manage the military.

Therefore, although Shen Zhi is the governor of Bingzhou, he cannot be said to dominate a state, but can only be said to be the highest in the state.

Lou Chu rushed to the big city on the south bank of Mengjin that night and found a serious problem. He left in a hurry and did not even ask for a customs clearance document.

Even in normal times, Mengjin does not allow suspicious people to cross the bridge, not to mention that the emperor in Luoyang was assassinated and the river workers upstream rebelled, so the two cities of Mengjin, big and small, were guarded more strictly.

Lou Chu couldn't even enter the city, and could only wander around in a market outside the city.

The market was not big, with the main street no longer than a hundred steps. It was attached to the big city on the south bank, called Nanping Market, and was held three times a month. Usually, only a few shops were open, and some farmers came to sell fresh vegetables and meat.

This day was not a market day, and it was night. There were no pedestrians on the street, and no lights on both sides. After Lou Chu broke in, he found that there were houses on both sides. Not far ahead, the big city stood tall. The guards on the top of the city saw someone coming and asked loudly: "Who is coming?"

"The messenger of the Dongyang Marquis family in Luoyang, going to Bingzhou to deliver a letter." Lou Chu said loudly, using Zhou Lu's father as a title, hoping to sneak into the customs.

The guards didn't think the reputation of the Marquis of Dongyang was that great. "Do not open the door late at night. Don't you understand such a simple rule? Come tomorrow morning and bring the official document of the Ministry of War. The management is strict now. Other official documents are useless. Do you understand?"

Lou Chu agreed and turned back to the market. He found that the problem was serious. He didn't have any official documents on him. He had to think of a way tomorrow to see if there was another way to cross the river.

The houses on both sides of the market were not lit, nor were there signs or flags. Lou Chu ran back and forth twice, but couldn't find an inn to stay in.

When he crossed the market for the third time, he suddenly heard a strange hissing sound. He stopped his horse and looked over. He vaguely saw a figure under the eaves of a house.

The two looked at each other, and Lou Chu said on the horse: "Excuse me, is there an inn here? People on the road want to stay here for one night."

"Lou Chu?" The man called out the name.

Lou Chu was startled, and the voice sounded familiar, "You... Ma Wei?"

Ma Wei walked out from under the eaves and said excitedly, "It's me."

Lou Chu immediately dismounted and greeted him. They met an old friend for the first time, and they didn't know where to start.

"Why is Brother Ma here?" Lou Chu spoke first.

Ma Wei grabbed Lou Chu's wrist, "Go in, this is not a place to talk."

Ma Wei led the way, and Lou Chu led the horse. The two came to the back street. The back street was narrow, with only more than ten houses. Lou Chu led the horse to the shed in the backyard, added some hay, and went into the house with Ma Wei.

The house was small and low, with a kang by the window, no table or chairs, and the two sat on the edge of the kang. Ma Wei lit a small oil lamp and placed it between the two.

"Brother Ma left Beijing a long time ago, why did he stop here?" Lou Chu asked again.

"Alas, it's hard to put it into words. Let's talk about Dongdu first. The Emperor of All Things is really..."

"Yes."

"Is the assassin really from Liang?"

"Yes."

Ma Wei was overjoyed and laughed three times. The people didn't know that the emperor was assassinated and then hit three times. Lou Chu didn't take credit for this.

Ma Wei stood up. The room was too small. He could only turn around in one place. Then he stopped and put away his smile. "I heard that one of the general's sons was arrested. Could it be Brother Chu?"

"It was me, so I escaped."

"How did Brother Chu leave the capital?" Ma Wei was surprised.

"It's hard to put it into words. Anyway, the Liang family is in power in Dongdu now. They don't want to break up with the general, nor do they want to pardon me. So after discussing with the Empress Dowager, they let me go. I am now a fugitive."

Ma Wei was even more surprised. He was also a fugitive. At least he had no charges and was not wanted.

"Why is Brother Ma staying here?"

Ma Wei sighed. It was really hard to put it into words.

On the evening of the day when the general led his army to the west, Ma Wei escaped from Dongdu alone and came to Mengjin. However, the checkpoints were already tight at that time, and only a few official documents from the ministries were available. The official documents that Ma Wei asked for from the Yin Yamen of Dongdu became a piece of waste paper.

Ma Wei did not dare to return to Dongdu, so he rushed to other checkpoints and wanted to take a detour to Bingzhou. As a result, the control was strict everywhere, so he returned to Mengjin and paid a boatman to take him across the river at night.

It was also because of his bad luck and lack of experience in traveling outside. He paid the money early, but when the agreed time came, the boatman disappeared and never appeared again.

The boat was not hired, but the money was spent. Ma Wei could only stay in Nanpingji, renting the cheapest hut and waiting for a transfer.

After hearing that the emperor was assassinated, Ma Wei was worried about gains and losses. He wanted to go back to Beijing to see, but was afraid of falling into a trap. He couldn't sleep at night, went out to look at the sky, heard the sound of horse hooves in the front street, went to check, vaguely recognized it was Lou Chu, so he asked to stop.

"Alas, the checkpoints are now more strictly controlled. Only documents from the Ministry of War can pass through. This is the case in Mengjin, and other places will be no exception." Lou Chu felt more and more headache.

"There must be a way when the car reaches the mountain. Brother Chu, please tell me about the assassination. I want to hear every detail." Ma Wei was very interested. There was nothing much to say about his own experience.

Lou Chu started to tell. He only wanted to give a general idea. Unable to withstand Ma Wei's repeated questioning, he went into more and more detail. Finally, he told everything in detail, except to mention Princess Huanyan and Zhang Shiyu as little as possible.

Ma Wei let out a sigh of relief, "It turns out that so many things happened, I thought... Well, now that I think about it, the original plan made by the three of us was really a piece of cake."

"If it hadn't been a child's play at the beginning, there would be no big play today."

"Haha, Brother Chu is right, but if Brother Chu hadn't made a decisive decision, the assassination would have failed again. So, Guo Shifeng has become a guest of the Liang family?"

"That's why I didn't look for him when I left Beijing."

"Hey, it's right not to look for him." Ma Wei shook his head and suppressed the jealousy in his heart, "Let's find a way to pass the border. I heard a lot of news here. The situation in Bingzhou is also very tense. The Shen family has not raised troops for a long time. It is said that troops are being recruited to prevent Qinzhou rebels from entering the border. The cities in the north have their own plans. Some of them are closed in broad daylight and the people are not allowed to enter at will. "

"Then we can't reach Jinyang smoothly even after passing Mengjin."

"No, but there is always a way around the city. There is no way around the huge river. I hate that boatman for taking my money, but... I hope the river will freeze this year, and it will have to be earlier. Did Brother Chu bring dry food? I haven’t eaten all day.”

Ma Wei didn't care about his wife or property. He thought he would be welcomed by someone when he arrived in Bingzhou, so he didn't bring much money.

There was a bundle on the floor, but I didn't look at what was inside. After entering the house, I put it on the ground and opened it. I saw five small bundles inside, one package of winter clothes, one package of gold and silver jewelry, one package of copper coins, and one package of gold and silver jewelry. Pack books and a pack of food.

When Ma Wei saw the pastries, he cheered, picked up one and took a big bite first. He stood up and went to the window sill to find two broken bowls. He held the food in his mouth and said, "There is only cold water, so brother Chu will make do with it."

The baggage was prepared by Princess Huanyan. Lou Chu first looked at the small bag of books, which contained "The Book of Changes", "Xunzi", "Gongsun Longzi" and "The Book of Songs". The first three books are related to the study of name and reality. The latter one has nothing to do with it.

The four books were very common. I didn't know what Huanyan meant by sending them. He flipped through them casually, but didn't see anything special. He tied up the bundle and put it aside alone.

When Ma Wei came back, they were both very hungry. They ate the pastries with cold water, but they still thought they were delicious.

Ma Wei was full, patted his belly, and took a look at the remaining two pieces, "Save it for tomorrow's breakfast."

"We have money." Lou Chu pointed to the two bags of silver.

Ma Wei laughed, "A few days of hard life have made me confused. Come on, let's share and eat."

Both of them were actually full, but they didn't want to waste food and insisted on eating. Ma Wei nodded while eating: "This is like a palace thing. The Liang family is really polite to Brother Chu."

Lou Chu nodded, feeling that it would be better not to tell some truths.

After finishing the pastry, Ma Wei looked at the package of jewelry and said with a smile, "How come they are all women's things?"

"It's hard to carry other things."

"That's right." Ma Wei wrapped up the jewelry, "The place here is small, and copper coins are enough. Let's be careful not to reveal our wealth."

Lou Chi was not a person who loved money, but he was a little reluctant to part with the jewelry. He immediately nodded, divided the copper coins into two piles, and shared them with Ma Wei.

Ma Wei was not polite and regained his pride, "I'll treat Brother Chu to a drink tomorrow. When we get to Bingzhou, we'll have a drink again."

The two packed up their things and got on the kang, each lying down on one side. Ma Wei was covered with a thin quilt and the winter coat was draped on the floor. They chatted for an hour before falling asleep.

Lou Chu slept until the next morning. When he opened his eyes, Ma Wei was not there and the quilt was on him.

Lou Chu stood up and tied up the baggage one by one. He had to cross the river anyway today and if the checkpoint was blocked, he would hire a private boat elsewhere. The worst he could do was to keep guard and not make Ma Wei's mistake again.

I was very bored. I opened the door and went out of the house. I saw people coming and going outside, and it became lively. Today must be the market day. The nearby villagers and soldiers stationed in the city came to do business.

There were fewer people in the back streets but more people in the front streets. As soon as they took a few steps away from the building, they saw Ma Wei running from a distance, carrying wine and meat in his hands.

Lou Chu guessed that he was just going to buy wine. He held up his hands and was about to speak when Ma Wei rushed over and said in a panic: "Come in quickly, why are you out?"

The two of them entered the house, Ma Wei put down the food and wine, closed the door tightly, and looked out through the crack in the door.

"What's wrong?" Lou Chu asked.

Ma Wei turned around and looked at the foundation of the building from head to toe, "You have something to hide from me?"

"No." Lou Chu did hide something, but it was insignificant and would not make Ma Wei nervous.

"A team of officers and soldiers gathered together and posted a notice with your face painted on it."

Lou Chu was stunned, "The Liang family only let me temporarily comfort the general, but they still want to arrest me and bring me to justice, but..."

"But it's too early. What's the difference between this and not letting people go? Do the Liang family regret it?"

"What does the sign say about me?"

"You are said to be an associate of the assassins, and there will be a reward of five thousand for your capture alive."

"The reward is so small?"

"Hey, ask the people outside, they all think five thousand dollars is a lot." Ma Wei approached the crack of the door again and looked outside, then suddenly took two steps back, his face changed, "The officers and soldiers are coming here."